Device and Method for Attachment of Necktie

ABSTRACT

A device is provided for the easy engagement of a necktie around the neck of a user in an as-used position. The device employs a curved resilient member having a gap between its distal ends which eliminates the over tightening such neckties produce on the user&#39;s neck. The curved member will dismount when force is exerted to the tie sufficient to overcome the inward bias of the curved member providing a user a secure yet easily disengageable mount for their necktie.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/323204 filed on Apr. 12, 2010 and is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention herein disclosed relates generally to neckties. Moreparticularly it relates to a device for the easy engagement of a necktiearound the neck of a user which eliminates the over tightening suchneckties produce on the user's neck, yet provides a secure yet easilydisengageable mount.

2. Prior Art

Neckties have been worn by men for decades as a fashion accessory and asstandard issue clothing for executives. Neckties are also conventionallyworn by men at dress affairs such as weddings and holidays such as NewYear's Eve. More modernly women, too, have endeavored to wear necktieswith suits and coats as a fashion accessory and to achieve theperception of being an executive or professional when viewed by others.

While neckties provide the user with the ability to display flare andaccessorize their suit or coat with color and patterns, they can be anuisance to tie around the neck of the user. Neckties are notstandardized and some are too long for one knot and others too short fora bigger knot such as a double Windsor.

For wearers who don't wear and therefor tie neckties very often, tyingthe knot in a necktie is a learning experience each time its attempted.Even for wearers who wear neckties daily, tying a necktie is fraughtwith potential for frustration due to the different lengths andthicknesses of the fabric effecting the final outcome of the time afterknotting. Thick fabric or short ties cause the tied necktie to appeartoo short and above the belt line. Thinner fabric or longer neckties canend up having their distal ends hanging over the fabric of a pair ofpants.

Further, neckties can be dangerous. Working around machinery, necktiespresent an especially dangerous hazard in that they can become entangledin moving gears and components. Because they are tied around the user'sneck, and because they are reasonably strong since they are formed ofmultiple fabric layers, a necktie caught in machinery can cause thewearer to have their head pulled into the moving components ofmachinery. Since the fabric tie is encircling the wearer's neck, therisk of severe injury or strangulation is quite real.

Pre-tied neckties have been attempted in the past. One example is the“clip-on” tie that is still popular today. However clip-on ties, tothose experienced in fashion are readily apparent since there are nofabric portions extending up the wearer's collar. Further, clip-on tiesmust be purchased in the configuration with a clip implanted andtherefor a wearer cannot take their favorite tie from the closet andengage it upon a clip for subsequent use. Wearers are at the mercy ofthe manufacturers for style and color which can be problematic.

As such, there exists an unmet need, for a device and method to allownecktie wearers to tie any of their own collection of neckties onto aneck engaging component which is easily mounted and removed. Such adevice should provide an appearance to a viewer, of a necktie which hasfabric extending into the collar so that stylish users are accommodated.Further, such a device and method should also allow for neckties to bemanufactured and provided from the factor in a tied condition upon theneck mounting component.

In addition, the necktie engaged upon the neck mounting component,should also provide safety to the wearer around machinery. Consequently,such a device and method should provide a necktie mount for a wearer'sneck that provides the illusion that the tie is engaged around thecollar, but in fact is engaged to the neck mounting component. The neckmounting component should provide a solid mount of the tie with theuser's neck and shirt, but, must be self-releasing when engaged suchthat the user is not pulled into machinery.

With respect to the above, before explaining at least one preferredembodiment of the necktie mount and method in detail or in general, itis to be understood that the invention is not limited in its applicationto the details of construction and to the arrangement of the neck mount,tie, or other components or the steps set forth in the followingdescription or illustrated in the drawings. The various apparatus andmethods of the disclosed necktie mounting invention are capable of otherembodiments, and of being practiced and carried out in various ways, allof which will be obvious to those skilled in the art, once theinformation herein is reviewed. Also, it is to be understood that thephraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conceptionupon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basisfor designing other modes of neck-engaging mounts for neckties whicheasily release, and for carrying out the several purposes of the presentdisclosed device and method. It is important, therefore, that theembodiments, objects and claims herein, be regarded as including suchequivalent construction and methodology insofar as they do not departfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed device and method provides a solution to the above notedshortcomings of pre-tied neckties and the conventional means ofengagement of such to the user's neck such as with clip-on ties. Thedevice and method herein provides a novel system engaging a tie from awearer's own collection, or from the manufacturer, to a neck mount whichextends around a majority of the circumference of the user's neck andengages portions of the necktie up into the collar to appear hand tied.

In a preferred mode of the device, a curved neck mounting member isemployed which is substantially U shaped and is made of resilientmaterial such as plastic. The distal ends of the mounting member arepositioned slightly apart from each other by the circular or curvedshape of the neck mounting member thereby forming a gap. The resilientnature of the material forming the neck mounting member allows the userto enlarge the gap between the distal ends and engage the neck mountingmember around their neck and through the collar of a dress shirt.

However, because the neck mounting member is formed of resilient plasticor other material, once engaged around the neck, the mounting memberinherently biases the distal ends toward each other and by doing soprovides a loose but solid engagement to the neck and shirt of the user.

The same flexible nature of the neck mounting member, allow it to beeasily disengaged from the wearer's neck along with a tie engaged to themember. A simple pulling apart of the distal ends to enlarge the gaptherebetween, allows for removal from the wearer's neck. In the eventthe engaged necktie becomes caught in moving machinery, instead ofpulling the wearer's face and head toward the machinery, the neckmounting member is simply pulled from the wearer's neck therebyproviding a means to release the device from the user passively andeffectively to avoid injury.

A necktie is tied at a central portion of the neck engaging member. Inone mode of the device, the knot is positioned by tying the necktie in aWindsor or other knot, around the neck engaging member. Alternatively,and to increase the stability of the tied necktie in maintaining aposition, a recess can be formed at the central point of tying the knot.The slight recess provides a means to prevent sliding of the necktiealong the neck engaging member.

In another mode of the device, a pair of necktie engaging mounts areformed a short distance from the central portion where the necktie isknotted. During a tying of the tie to the neck engaging member, a firstleg is engaged on one mount and a second leg is engaged on the secondmount. Then the tie is engaged in a conventional knot at the middleportion. When the member is engaged around the neck of the user and intothe collar of the shirt, the two legs give the appearance of the tieextending around the user's neck.

In yet another mode of the device herein, which can be provided by thefactory, the neck engaging member is covered with fabric, or painted ordyed, to make the member appear the same as the pattern of the necktie.When the neck engaging member is placed in the “as worn” position arounda user's neck, the portions of the member extending from the centralarea of the knot, to the distal ends, appear as legs of the fabricforming the tie. This mode of the device also gives the illusion thatthe tie extends around the user's neck and is tied, even though it isnot.

The wearer can thus have all of their favorite ties pre-engaged toindividual neck engaging members. This allows them to easily and simplyengage the necktie to hang in a natural fashion at the front of theshirt with the knot between the two portions of the collar. The distalends of the member are simply separated to enlarge the gap sufficientlyto allow the distal ends to slide into the collar and around the user'sneck.

Dismounting is as simple as pulling on the tie, or the central portionof the mounting member, to thereby cause the distal ends to move awayfrom each other as the resilient material of the mount bends. This easydismount also provides a means for passive disengagement from the neckof the user should the tie become caught in machinery or the like.

It is an object of this invention to provide a means to pre-engage auser's neckties to a knotted configuration and then be engaged to theneck of the user.

It is another object of this invention to provide a system for preknotting of neckties that provides for a portion of fabric to extendinto the collar of the user to give the illusion of a tied necktie.

Finally, it is an object of this invention to provide a necktie mountthat will passively release from the wearer should the tie become caughtin machinery.

These together with other objects and advantages which becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of the necktie pre-tying andengagement system herein as more fully hereinafter described andclaimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a partthereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 depicts a favored mode of the device, wherein the curved neckengaging member is shaped to encircle the neck of a wearer and has allor a portion colored to make it appear the fabric tie extends into thecollar.

FIG. 2 depicts a mode of the neck engaging member which is formed ofresilient material which is pre-shaped to a curve.

FIG. 3 depicts a preferred mode of the neck engaging member having arecess formed at a central portion to provide a means to prevent lateralsliding of the tied tie knot, on the member.

FIG. 4 depicts the curved resilient neck engaging member showingcolorization of areas adjacent to the central portion to appear as anextension of the tied tie placed in the central portion.

FIG. 5 depicts the device in a first as-used position, engaged on thecollar and surrounding a user's neck, and showing the extension portionsadjacent to the tied tie, appearing as an extension thereof.

FIG. 6 depicts the device in a second as used-position engaged on thecollar of a shirt which would surround a user's neck, where the collaris buttoned.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the FIGS. 1-6, the necktie knotting and engagementdevice 10 herein, which when employed in an as-used position such as inboth FIGS. 5-6, provides a natural appearing hand-tied necktie 12 whenit is tied upon the central portion 13 of a resilient curved neckengaging member 14.

As noted above, the curved member 14 is formed of resilient materialwhich is elastic in nature or has a memory and after a deformation byexpanding it such as placement around a user's neck, biases to itsoriginal curved contracted shape. A gap 16 is formed between the twodistal ends of the member 14.

The member 14 is configured to encircle the neck of a user and upon asurface facing the shirt 15, to frictionally engage therewith. Means toincrease frictional engagement between the shirt 15 and the curvedmember 14 may be provided by a shaped surface 17 such as the shown toothedge. This helps prevent the curved member 14 from rotating when in theas-used position encircling the user's neck between two portions of ashirt collar 19 of a shirt 15.

In the preferred mode of the device 10, extensions 21 which are portionsof or on the member 14, extending away from the central portion 13 wherethe tie 12 is knotted, are imparted with a pattern or color or othermeans to make the member 14 in the region of the extensions 21, appearas an extension of the tie 12 to someone viewing the user wearing thetie 12 in the as used position of FIG. 5. The extensions 21 may be apainted, dyed or more preferably have fabric thereon substantiallysimilar in pattern and color to that of the tie 12, to make theextensions 21 appear to be part of the tie 12, and extending into thecollar 19 of the user's shirt. (FIG. 5)

Employing the curved member 14, a user may also engage their own tie 12thereto at the central portion 13. This may be done by looping a portionof the tie around the curved member 14, while tying the knot of the tie12 in a conventional fashion. Thereafter the loop formed may be cut, andthe two portions of the loop, engaged upon the curved member 14, byremoving and replacing the conventional seam in such ties 12.

It is envisioned however that the device 12 will be more popular wherethe device 10 is manufactured with the tie 12 and extensions 21 placedthereon, and sold as a unit in stores. However, if the curved member 14is formed of a neutral material such as black, or of a transparentmaterial which is hard to see, the device 10 may be assembled by theuser using a tie 12 and eliminating the extensions 21 if they do notwish to cut their tie 12. Using dark or black colorized material for thecurved member 14 and a dark tie 12 will give the appearance that theportions of the member 14 adjacent to the tie 12 knotted to the centralportion 13 are part of the tie 12.

Once the tie 12 is engaged to the member 14 it may be left in thatfashion. Subsequent engagement to the neck of the user is accomplishedby pulling the distal ends to enlarge the gap 16 therebetween, andsliding the member 14 around the user's neck under the collar 19 of ashirt 15 such as in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The tie 12 is thus frictionally engaged around the user's neck by theinwardly biasing curved member 14 reducing the gap 16 to less then thediameter of the user's neck. Particularly preferred in all modes of thedevice 10, is a reduced diameter of the member 14 in the central portion13, as in FIG. 3. This provides a means to maintain the knotted tie 12at the central portion 13, by making it hard for the tie so knotted, toslid onto the extension areas.

In the as-used position of FIGS. 5-6, the member 14, and tie 12, may bepassively dismounted from the user's neck, should the tie 12 becomecaught in machinery, or, should another person pull on the tie 12 whilein the as-used position. This is because the biased inward engagement ofthe curved member 14 on the neck of the user, is overcome by any pullingon the tie 12 sufficient to cause the flexible member to expand the gap16 to allow the member 14 and tie 12 to move in the direction of theforce exerted on the tie 12. This means for passive dismount from theas-used position on the user's neck, will save the user from severeinjury if the force exerted on the tie 12 is from machinery, or from anassailant attempting to disable the user.

Finally, the device 10 is adapted for storage on a conventional closethanger member (not shown) which conventionally holds hangers withclothing. A curved portion 25 at the distal ends of the curved member 14is configured to provide a good mount to such circular hanger membersand maintain the device 10 hanging on the member better than a planarsurface.

While all of the fundamental characteristics and features of the necktieengagement system herein, and employment thereof have been shown anddescribed herein, with reference to particular embodiments thereof, alatitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intendedin the foregoing disclosure and it will be apparent that in someinstances, some features of the invention may be employed without acorresponding use of other features without departing from the scope ofthe invention as set forth. It should also be understood that varioussubstitutions, modifications, and variations may be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of theinvention. Consequently, all such modifications and variations andsubstitutions are included within the scope of the disclosed system andapparatus for engagement of neckties to a wearer's neck, as defined bythe following claims.

1. An apparatus positioning a necktie upon a user's neck, comprising: aU-shaped member having a pair of distal ends defining a gaptherebetween; said member formed of resilient material; said memberhaving an interior circumference defined by a contact surface; saidinterior circumference sized to frictionally engage upon a neck of auser in an as-used position; a central portion of said member having anecktie knotted thereon; and said member having an engagement positionachievable by imparting a force to said distal ends in oppositedirections to form an enlargement of said gap to a distance sufficientto allow a passage of said neck therethrough to position said member insaid as-used position with said necktie hanging from said centralportion, and, said member will passively disengage from said as-usedposition upon communication of said force to said tie in a directionaway from said member.
 2. The apparatus positioning a necktie upon auser's neck of claim 1, additionally comprising: a recess formed in saidmember at said central portion; said recess defining a mounting positionfor said necktie; and said recess providing means to maintain saidnecktie at said central portion by preventing a sliding upon saidmember.
 3. The apparatus positioning a necktie upon a user's neck ofclaim 1, additionally comprising: extension portions of said memberextending from said central portion; and a colorization of saidextension portions rendering them to appear as extensions of saidnecktie knotted at said central portion.
 4. The apparatus positioning anecktie upon a user's neck of claim 2, additionally comprising:extension portions of said member extending from said central portion;and a colorization of said extension portions rendering them to appearas extensions of said necktie knotted at said central portion.
 5. Theapparatus positioning a necktie upon a user's neck of claim 3,additionally comprising: said colorization of said extension portionsprovided by a fabric covering thereof; and said fabric covering havingan appearance substantially similar to said necktie's appearance.
 6. Theapparatus positioning a necktie upon a user's neck of claim 4,additionally comprising: said colorization of said extension portionsprovided by a fabric covering thereof; and said fabric covering havingan appearance substantially similar to said necktie's appearance.
 7. Theapparatus positioning a necktie upon a user's neck of claim 3,additionally comprising: said colorization of said extension portionsadhered upon an exterior surface of said member; and said exteriorsurface having an appearance substantially similar to said necktie'sappearance.
 8. The apparatus positioning a necktie upon a user's neck ofclaim 4, additionally comprising: said colorization of said extensionportions adhered upon an exterior surface of said member; and saidexterior surface having an appearance substantially similar to saidnecktie's appearance.
 9. The apparatus positioning a necktie upon auser's neck of claim 1, additionally comprising: a portion of saidcontact surface formed of alternating recesses and points; and saidalternating recesses and points providing a means to enhance africtional engagement of said contact surface with fabric of a shirtworn by said user to prevent a rotation of said member when in saidas-used position.
 10. The apparatus positioning a necktie upon a user'sneck of claim 2, additionally comprising: a portion of said contactsurface formed of alternating recesses and points; and said alternatingrecesses and points providing a means to enhance a frictional engagementof said contact surface with fabric of a shirt worn by said user toprevent a rotation of said member when in said as-used position.
 11. Theapparatus positioning a necktie upon a user's neck of claim 3,additionally comprising: a portion of said contact surface formed ofalternating recesses and points; and said alternating recesses andpoints providing a means to enhance a frictional engagement of saidcontact surface with fabric of a shirt worn by said user to prevent arotation of said member when in said as-used position.
 12. The apparatuspositioning a necktie upon a user's neck of claim 4, additionallycomprising: a portion of said contact surface formed of alternatingrecesses and points; and said alternating recesses and points providinga means to enhance a frictional engagement of said contact surface withfabric of a shirt worn by said user to prevent a rotation of said memberwhen in said as-used position.
 13. The apparatus positioning a necktieupon a user's neck of claim 5, additionally comprising: a portion ofsaid contact surface formed of alternating recesses and points; and saidalternating recesses and points providing a means to enhance africtional engagement of said contact surface with fabric of a shirtworn by said user to prevent a rotation of said member when in saidas-used position.
 14. The apparatus positioning a necktie upon a user'sneck of claim 6, additionally comprising: a portion of said contactsurface formed of alternating recesses and points; and said alternatingrecesses and points providing a means to enhance a frictional engagementof said contact surface with fabric of a shirt worn by said user toprevent a rotation of said member when in said as-used position.
 15. Theapparatus positioning a necktie upon a user's neck of claim 7,additionally comprising: a portion of said contact surface formed ofalternating recesses and points; and said alternating recesses andpoints providing a means to enhance a frictional engagement of saidcontact surface with fabric of a shirt worn by said user to prevent arotation of said member when in said as-used position.
 16. The apparatuspositioning a necktie upon a user's neck of claim 8, additionallycomprising: a portion of said contact surface formed of alternatingrecesses and points; and said alternating recesses and points providinga means to enhance a frictional engagement of said contact surface withfabric of a shirt worn by said user to prevent a rotation of said memberwhen in said as-used position.